Bitterthorn: A sapphic Gothic romance inspired by classic fairytales

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Both classic and novel, melancholy and tenderly wrought, Bitterthorn crackles with passion and warmth like a fire on a long winter night. Lush and hauntingly atmospheric, Kat Dunn’s breathtakingly vivid portrayal of love, loneliness and loss was an absolute pleasure to read!

But, I have to say I was completely taken by surprise by how emotionally invested I became in our protagonist’s life. The entire premise of this book could be solved fairly easily: just give criminals sentenced to death to the wheel? The story is well paced and there is plenty of mystery and intrigue to keep the reader wanting more. When Mina is herself taken as the new companion, she finds herself living in a remote castle, strangely drawn to the Witch. Everything about this book was perfection, the writing, the characters, the suspense/mystery, the romance, the plot twists.A lyrical Gothic tale with strong fairytale elements about loneliness and love, and how the two intertwine. From the very first page, Kate Dunn captivated me with a brilliantly dark, gothic and fairytale-like atmosphere as well as prose, that made it impossible to put this novel down.

I also felt like the relationship was kind of toxic at points and this wasn't really acknowledged and was instead put down to loneliness and prickliness and it just took Mina really pushing the point for them to move on? Join our community to get personalised book suggestions, extracts straight to your inbox, 10% off RRPs, and to change children’s lives. These sentiments underpin Kat Dunn’s fairy tale infused Bitterthorn, a brilliantly spun Sapphic love story that evokes elements of Beauty and the Beast, Rapunzel, Rumpelstiltskin and Sleeping Beauty to create an edge-of-your- seat, original story that throngs with longing. The world feels so lush, the characters so real and the protagonist's internal life so palpable, that I found myself diving head first into the story with no desire to come out for air. Talking about better; in the beginning of the book, I really hoped that the housekeeper whose name is Wolf will turn out to be a real wolf and that the servants turn into wild animals at night, but alas, there was actually a village.She has a BA in Japanese from SOAS and an MA in English from Warwick, and has written about mental health for Mind and The Guardian, and worked as a translator for Japanese television. Stranded with her darkly alluring captor, the mystery of what happened to the previous companions draws Mina into the heart of a terrifying secret that could save her life, or end it. Bitterthorn is beautiful and haunting - the type of story that seeps into your bones and stays with you long after reading. The story is beautifully told but I struggle to connect with it and it took me five attempts to read it.

She’s written about mental health for Mind and the Guardian , and worked as a translator for Japanese television. It got better as the book progressed and things started happening, but overall, the way the story was told wasn't my favourite. I can definitely see this as being for fans of The Wolf and the Woodsman, A Far Wilder Magic and For the Wolf - all which are books I enjoyed. Mina runs away again from the witch's castle and can't do anything but go back to her family, who rejects her again. yes the vibes were there but I also felt like we skipped a lot of time which made this feel less slow burn that it actually was.

Mina is an interesting protagonist and I really enjoyed seeing her relationship with the Witch develop. So, when the witch arrives to take her claim, Mina just says fuck it and volunteers, she doesn't have anything to lose and her dad doesn't even try to stop her. Around the anniversary of her mother’s death, Mina volunteers herself when the Witch comes to stake her claim.

I was hooked from the first chapter, pulled into the world and wanting to know what would happen, and how it would all end. I've heard a lot about this book with quite enthusiastic tones, but honestly, I don't understand why.How loneliness can fester away at you, a feeling I know well (and yet I have no Witch to love me, which doesn’t seem fair). I also thought the end was a bit corny and didn't really understand the 3rd act conflict since I thought it was pretty obvious what was happening to the companions? Sure, it has those fairy tale trappings there - it advertised as such, but it takes them and makes them its own. So when the Witch demands her next companion, Mina offers herself up – though she has no idea what fate awaits her. Kat Dunn examines the power of loneliness and isolation and cruelty in making monsters of us, using a backdrop of a sweeping dark fairytale, but also the power of insistent, honest love that recognises the truths of each other.